KCB Chief Laments Saturation Of Ugandan Bank Market

Kenya’s leading bank, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has recorded a low performance, following a ranking by Uganda Central Bank, placing the lender 14th, of the 25 banks which have opened doors in Uganda.

According to The Monitor, investment in Uganda’s bank sector has not been profitable to KCB, the no.1 Kenyan bank by asset valuation.

“There are 25 banks operating on the Ugandan banks sector. KCB, which is Kenya’s biggest bank, is ranked at 14th position in Uganda, with an asset base of Shs300 billion ($122 million), 14 branches and a 2 per cent market share”, according to a Bank of Uganda December 2011 data.

The bank’s asset base as of December 2012 was estimated at Shs335.5 billion ($131 million) in Uganda.

According to the Managing Director of KCB in Uganda Mr. Albert Odongo, gaining in Uganda for KCB was not as easy as expected as the lender realized late that the banking market was “already saturated.”

Successful banks in Uganda

Uganda however, has many successful banks as the KCB Managing Director noted.

“Stanbic, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank, is ranked at position one with a 21 per cent market stake” while “ Standard Chartered, a subsidiary Standard Chartered Bank Group – UK, is ranked at second position with a market share of 15 per cent”, The Monitor reported.

With a market share of 9 percent, Barclays a UK based bank is ranked third, while Crane Bank and Dfcu, each with a 7 per cent market share, occupy fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Succeeding elsewhere

In South Sudan where it has a branch, KCB seems to be the main bank according to Mr Odongo.

“KCB has become the largest bank in South Sudan due to the fact that it set up operations when the market was still virgin”, he said.

The bank enjoys a 30 per cent market share in South Sudan and 10 per cent in Rwanda.

KCB Uganda posted a growth of Shs1.6 billion ($632,000) in 2012, compared to Shs765 million ($302,000) the previous year.